2026 Board of Directors Election Is Now Open
Candidate Biographies
Marcus Whitney, CHFP
Marcus Whitney is a Founding Partner of Jumpstart Health Investors (JHI), the most active early-stage healthcare venture capital firm in America. Marcus leads Jumpstart Nova, JHI’s institutional, strategic, healthcare seed fund.
Marcus is also co-founder and minority owner of Major League Soccer team, Nashville Soccer Club.
Marcus is the author of the Amazon #1 best-selling book “Create and Orchestrate”, about claiming your Creative Power through entrepreneurship. His work has been featured by Entrepreneur, CNBC, Inc., NPR, Fast Company, and The Atlantic.
Marcus is an Aspen Health Innovators Fellow, and a member of the board of the Healthcare Finance Management Association, Celtic Bank, the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum, the Nashville Convention and Visitors Corporation, OZ Arts, and Scott Hamilton CARES.
Scott R. Hawig, CPA, FHFMA
Scott Hawig, CPA, CMA, MBA, is an accomplished healthcare finance and operations executive with a distinguished record of leadership across major integrated delivery systems, academic medical centers, and healthcare organizations. A current HFMA Board Director and long-time member, Scott brings extensive expertise in strategic planning, financial oversight, community engagement, and enterprise transformation.
In 2025, Scott joined BJC Health System as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, where he serves as a key strategic advisor and member of the executive leadership team. He is responsible for aligning financial and operational strategies to support the system’s mission across Missouri, southern Illinois, and eastern Kansas. Scott oversees all aspects of financial management, revenue cycle, supply chain, treasury, accounting, and investments for the $12 billion system, guiding initiatives that strengthen financial performance, optimize assets, and enable long-term organizational growth.
Prior to joining BJC, Scott served as Executive Vice President, Chief Financial and Administrative Officer, and Treasurer for Froedtert ThedaCare Health, Inc., where he led all finance and administrative operations for an 18-hospital academic health system affiliated with the Medical College of Wisconsin. His responsibilities included financial planning, budgeting, revenue cycle management, managed care strategy, enterprise information technology, supply chain, and multiple joint ventures. During his tenure, he advanced strategic partnerships, co-led physician enterprise and academic alignment initiatives, supported major capital and clinical transformation efforts, and strengthened innovation across the system.
Scott’s earlier leadership roles include serving as Vice President of Finance at Shands HealthCare at the University of Florida, Divisional CFO and COO for Duke University Health System, and senior positions at Deloitte & Touche LLP and Arthur Andersen LLP, where he specialized in healthcare audit, advisory, and financial operations. These cumulative experiences have shaped his holistic understanding of the clinical, operational, technological, and regulatory complexities facing healthcare delivery organizations.
A committed contributor to the healthcare community, Scott has served on numerous boards, including Prism Clinical Imaging, Milwaukee Center for Diagnostic Imaging, Mental Health Emergency Center, United Community Center, STAQ, and other organizations dedicated to advancing clinical quality, community health, and system performance.
Scott has also taught at Marquette University, Duke University, and the University of Florida, sharing his expertise in financial management, healthcare finance, and applied financial modeling. His academic contributions reflect his ongoing commitment to developing emerging leaders in healthcare.
Ashraf Shehata
Ash Shehata is a nationally recognized healthcare IT executive, advisor, and industry thought leader with more than 30 years of experience driving innovation and transformation across the healthcare ecosystem. He recently began a position with Chicago Pacific Founders, a private equity firm that specializes in healthcare services. Prior to joining that firm, Ash served as the U.S. Leader for Healthcare at KPMG, where he guides health systems and organizations in advancing their clinical, operational, and digital strategies through innovative solutions and large-scale transformation initiatives. In this role, he served as a lead partner on a Fortune 15 account and was a trusted advisor to numerous healthcare boards and audit committees, including the Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA).
Ash is known for his collaborative, future-focused approach, consistently helping industry leaders navigate complex challenges and rapidly evolving market dynamics. He has worked extensively with distinguished organizations such as Bon Secours Mercy Health, Duke, Kaiser, Yale, Northwell Health, Cigna, and Walgreens, fostering dynamic exchanges of perspectives and shaping insights that surface critical issues facing the industry. His contributions extend to national thought leadership, with widely referenced work on artificial intelligence, healthcare workforce evolution, women’s health, Medicare Advantage, and mental health parity.
A sought-after speaker and commentator, Ash has been featured in Bloomberg, Forbes, Health Affairs, Chief Healthcare Executive, and Becker’s Hospital Review. He previously held senior leadership roles at Cisco, WellPoint, KGT Global Technologies, IBM, and Accenture, and he began his career at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center overseeing major operational and financial portfolios.
Michele Napier, FHFMA, FACHE
Michele Napier is an accomplished healthcare executive with more than 30 years of leadership experience spanning revenue cycle, managed care, population health, financial operations, and multi-state health system management. She currently serves as Senior Vice President and Chief Revenue Officer for Orlando Health, where she oversees $7 billion in patient revenue across 21 hospitals, 3,500 physicians and clinicians, and multiple billing entities. Under her leadership, Orlando Health has achieved more than nine consecutive years of 100%+ cash performance for acute and non-acute entities while reducing the cost to collect by 45%.
Throughout her career, Michele has guided major system transformations, including multi-state Epic implementations, financial and operational turnarounds, payer negotiations, and enterprise care management redesigns that have delivered significant gains in revenue, quality, and efficiency. Her previous executive roles include senior leadership positions at Mercy Health, The Health Alliance of Greater Cincinnati, Saint Vincent Catholic Medical Centers/US Family Health Plan, Independence Blue Cross/AmeriHealth, and Humana, where she consistently delivered measurable improvements in revenue integrity, contract performance, and organizational growth.
A longstanding HFMA leader, Michele has served as Regional Executive for Region 5, President of the Southwestern Ohio Chapter, Certification Chair, and a member of the National Advisory Council. She also brings extensive governance experience through board roles with organizations including Orlando Health, Grace Medical Home, and the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra.
Kevin Smith
Kevin Smith serves as Chief Financial Officer of SSM Health, a role he assumed in November 2023. An accomplished finance executive with a strong record of operational excellence and enterprise transformation, he leads the direction, strategy, and oversight of financial services across SSM Health’s four-state system. His responsibilities include long-term financial positioning, operational finance, financial and regulatory reporting, revenue cycle management, internal audit, financial planning, supply chain, and operating and capital budgeting.
Before joining SSM Health, Kevin served as Chief Financial Officer of Luminis Health in Annapolis, Maryland. His prior leadership roles include serving as CFO of Lehigh Valley Health Network and Universal Health Services, Inc., as well as Director of Finance for the University of Pennsylvania Health System. Through these roles, he has built a reputation for strengthening financial performance, advancing strategic priorities, and supporting mission-driven organizational growth.
Kevin holds a bachelor’s degree in finance and marketing from Drexel University, completed post-baccalaureate studies in accounting and economics at the University of Pennsylvania, and earned a master’s degree specializing in finance and real estate from the Harvard University Extension School. He serves on the boards of Civica and Surround Care. In 2024, Becker’s Hospital Review recognized him among its “Hospital and Health System CFOs to Know” and “Black Healthcare Leaders to Know,” reflecting his industry impact and leadership.
Jeremy Friese, MD
Jeremy Friese, MD, is a physician–entrepreneur and nationally recognized leader in healthcare innovation, payer–provider collaboration, and the modernization of administrative processes to improve patient access and experience. He currently serves as Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Humata Health, a company backed by more than 40 hospitals and major payers including BCBS and Optum, dedicated to transforming prior authorization through advanced technology and clinical intelligence.
Dr. Friese also leads the Prior Authorization Workgroup for the Coalition for Health AI (CHAI), where he helps guide national standards and best practices for responsible AI adoption in healthcare. His advisory and investment roles span multiple organizations—serving as a Mayo Clinic Venture Partner Advisor, Strategic Advisor to Availity, Founder and Managing Partner of The Donna Fund, and founding or early investor in several healthcare and technology ventures.
Prior to Humata, Dr. Friese co-founded and served as CEO of Verata Health, a pioneer in frictionless prior authorization solutions, which was acquired by Olive AI. He subsequently served as President, Payer for Olive, leading product and market strategies across payer organizations. Earlier in his career, he spent nearly two decades at Mayo Clinic, holding key leadership roles including Interventional Radiologist & Executive Leader, Senior Medical Director for Global Business Development, and Associate Chair, where he advanced major strategic initiatives, commercialization efforts, and enterprise financial planning.
Dr. Friese’s clinical background includes interventional radiology roles at the University of Minnesota and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. He holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, an MD from the Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine, and a BS in Biology, Business, and Chemistry from the University of South Dakota.
He has also contributed to philanthropic and professional organizations including the American Cancer Society’s Board of Ambassadors and YPO Global One.